Resilient biased closure for container openings



Feb. 1, 1966 s. v. DILLON 3,232,473

' RESILIENT BIASED CLOSURE FOR CONTAINER OPENINGS Filed Sept. 30, 1963 2Sheets-Sheet 1 M IN VE NTOR.

STEPHEN V. DILLON ATTORNEVS Feb. 1, 1966 s. v. DILLON 3,232,473

RESILIENT BIASED CLOSURE FOR CONTAINER OPENINGS Filed Sept. so, 1963 2Sheets-Sheet 2 FIG. 8 FIG. 9

INVENTOR. FIG. 5 STEPHEN V DILLON ATTORNEYS United States Patent3,232,473 RESELIENT BIASED CLOSURE FUR CGNTAINER OPENINGS Stephen V.Dillon, 2256 S. Troost, Tulsa, Okla. Filed Sept. 30, 1963, Ser. No.312,388 3 Claims. (Cl. 220-24) This invention relates to a resilientbiased closure for container openings. More particularly this inventionrelates to a reusable closure including a sealing element for sealablyclosing and opening a container, the sealing element also furnishing thebiasing force for retaining the closure in the opening.

An object of this invention is to provide a resilient biased closure forcontainer openings that maintains an eificient seal within the containeropening.

Another object of this invention is to provide a resilient biasedclosure for container openings that is reusable over extended periods oftime.

Still another object of this invention is to provide a resilient biasedclosure for container openings that is usable to sealably close openingsof various sizes and shapes in containers of various sizes and shapes.

Yet another object of this invention is to provide a resilient biasedclosure for container openings including a gasket of resilient materialthat sealably closes the opening and furnishes the biasing force forretaining the closure in position in the opening.

Another object of this invention is to provide a reusable resilientbiased closure for container openings that can be used in conjunctionwith valves, pour spouts, and similar elements to efiectively sealablyclose the opening in the container into which these elements fit.

Further objects and advantages of this invention will be apparent fromthe following description and claims, with reference to the accompanyingdrawings forming a part of this specification wherein like referencecharacters designate corresponding parts are used.

FIGURE 1 is a top elevational view of one type of closure constructed inaccordance with this invention.

FIGURE 2 is a sectional view taken along the line 22 of FIGURE 1.

FIGURE 3 is a sectional elevational view of the closure of FIGURE 1 insealing position in a container opening.

FIGURE 4 is a side elevational view partly in section of the bodyportion used in the closure of this invention.

FlGURE 5 is a sectional view of the preferred embodiment of thisinvention.

FIGURE 6 is a top plan view of an alternate embodiment of this inventionin scalable position within a container opening,

FIGURE '7 is a sectional view of the closure of FIGURE 6 taken alonglines 77.

FIGURE 8 is a sectional view of a container with a closure of thisinvention seala-bly received within a different style of containeropening.

FIGURE 9 is a top view of still another type of container opening intowhich the closure of this invention can be sealably positioned.

FIGURE 10 is a sectional view of another embodiment of the closure ofthis invention as sealably received within an opening in a container.

FIGURE 11 is a sectional View of a modified closure of this invention incombination with a valve positioned within an opening in a container.

FIGURE 12 is a sectional view of a further embodiment of this inventionin combination with a reversible pour spout that is received in a firstposition within an opening in a container.

FIGURE 13 is a sectional view of the embodiment of FIGURE 12 in a secondclosed position.

General description Generally, this invention consists of a closuredevice for a container opening comprising a cylindrical body portionhaving an annular flange portion on one end thereof, and an annularshoulder portion on the other end thereof. The shoulder portion isdesigned to be received interiorly 0f the container, through thecontainer opening. A gasket member of resilient material is adapted tobe received about the body portion, between the flange portion and theshoulder portion. This gasket member is sufficiently large in area tocover the container opening no matter what size or shape whereby a sealis accomplished between the container opening and the flange portion ofthe closure device. Furthermore, the gasket member is adapted to apply abiasing force against a body portion to urge or askew the body portiontoward an edge of the container opening. In so doing, the shoulderportion, of the body portion, contacts the interior edge of thecontainer opening and is therein retained, until removed.

Specific description For a more specific description of this invention,references now made to the figures and in particular to FIGURES 1, 2, 3and 4. The closure member 10 of this invention comprises a retainermember 12 and a gasket member 14.

Retainer member 12 (see FIGURE 4) includes a slightly elongated body 16,preferably of a cylindrical Body portion 16 is provided on oneconfiguration. end with a concentric annular flange portion 18 ofsubstantially increased diameter and on the other end with 3 an enlargedportion 20. Portion 20 is enlarged to provide an annular shoulder 22 atthe point of juncture of portion 26 with the body portion 16. Althoughportion Ztl can be of any convenient configuration, when body portion 16is cylindrical it is preferred that head portion- 20 be substantiallyhemispherical, or of a streamlined configuration.

Gasket member 14 is preferably a wedge of resilient rubberlike orplastic material, being substantially square or rectangular in plan viewas seen in FIGURE 1, and

being wedge shaped or triangular in cross section as seen member 14 atright angles to the upper surface 24 to receive therein the body portion16 of retainer member 12,

in the manner shown in FIGURE 2. The diameter of passage 30 isapproximately equal to the outside diameter of body portion 16.

With the closure member 10 assembled in this manner,

the body portion 16 extends at right angles to surface24 and flangeportion 18 lies in contact with, and parallel to surface 24. Shoulder-22ofportion 28 is oriented so as to be at an angle to surface 26 of thegasket member 14, this angle being approximately equal to the apex angleof the gasket member 14. Furthermore, it is preferred that shoulder 22be located approximately adjacent to, or in contact with surface 26 ofthe gasket member 14. It should be noted that head portion 28, althoughenlarged with respect to body portion 16, is not too large to preventits being forced through the passage 30 in gasket member 14.

The embodiment of FIGURES 1 through 3 includes a clip element 32comprising an elongated, relatively thin ribbon of metallic material.One end of the clipelement 32 isattached to the uppersurface34 of flangeportion 18'and extends radially therefrom, substantially parallel to thesurface 34." The purposes of clip element 32 will be more fullydescribed hereafter:

In positioning closure member within a circular opening 36in containeritl," the closure member 10 is placed over opening with portionregistering with the opening. A downwardly directed force is thenapplied tQtheupper surface34 of flange portion 18to cause depression ofthe gasket member 14,: primarily in the region 37of maximum thickness.As a'result of the substantial fiatteningrof gasket member 14, thebodyportion 16 becomes'oriented substantially at right angles to thecontainerv wall 40 permitting portion 20-to enter the container opening.When thiszforce is removed, the gasket member 14, because of itsresiliency, tends to resume its original wedge shape withexpansiongreatestin the region 37 of maximum thickness. That portion ofthe flange 18.nearest region 37 will move upwardlyrnore than theportion, furtherest from this region, thereby swinging or askewing bodyportion 16 into an inclined position, with relation to the containerwall 40. When the body portion 16 ;of: retainer member 12 is in thisposition, as shown in FIGURE 3, portion 20 will be located adjacent theperipheral edge of the opening 36 in the container wall 40. Shoulder 22will be in contact with the interior surface of the peripheral edgeportion of opening 36 at the point adjacent body portion 16 therebypreventing withdrawal of the--closure -member '10; In this position thegasket portion 14 -is in sealing contact with the outer surface 41 ofcontainer wall 40, in an area surrounding the opening 36: The surface 24of gasket member 14 is in sealing contact with the bottom surface offlange portion 18 of the retainer'member 12. Therefore, an eflicientseal is provided for the container opening36 to'prevent loss of fluid orother materials stored therein.

In order to remove the closure member 10 from sealing connection withopening 36, the body portion 16 must be rotatedor pivoted into apositionsubstantially at right angles to the plane of the container wall40 with the shoulder portion 22 substantially concentricwith opening36'to allow withdrawal of the portion 20 from within the opening.

The-clip element 32 asabove described, is used to assist in-this removaloperation. As shown in FIGURE 3, the clip element may be a part of theoriginal container asby'a shearable connection 42 therewith; Clipelement 32 is grasped at its outer free end 33 and an upward pullapplied thereto will shear the solder or spot weld connection 42. Thisupward pull tends to pivot the flange portion 18 into a positionsubstantially parallel to the wall portion 40. In this position,retainer body portion '16 extends at right angles to container Wall 40and the shoulder 22 registers concentrically with opening 36 therebyallowing removal of the head portion 20 of retainer member 12.

Although this closure member 10 is relatively easily removable as abovedescribed, it cannot under ordinary conditions be accidently removed.The resiliency of the gasket member 14 causes an upward force to beapplied to the bottom surface of the flange portion 18 which force 4.maintains the shoulder 22 hooked with the container edge adjacent theinternal periphery of opening 36.

FIGURE 5 represents a simplified container closure constructed inaccordance with the principles of this invention but without a springclip. Like numerals refer to like parts heretofore described.

Referring now to FIGURES 6 and '7, there is shown an alternateembodiment of this invention for use with triangular formed containeropenings 75. Closure member 79 is of a construction similar to closuremember 46 of FIGURES 1 through 5 except that gasket member 72 is ofsubstantially uniform thickness throughout. Therefore, the biasing forcerequired to position the closure member 70 such that shoulder 74 will bein locking contact with the interior surface of container wall 76 mustresult from the compression-of the gasket member 72 in the space betweenthe container top and flange 78.

In use, member 70 is positioned above opening such that head portion 77registers with a region of opening 75 that is large enough to allowpassage downwardly therethrough. A downward force is applied to the topof closure member 70 to depress gasket member 72 suf-' ficiently suchthat head portion 77 enters opening 75 to a point where shoulder 74 islocated internally of container wall 76. A lateral force is then appliedto member 78 to slide it in the directionof apex 79 of opening 75thereby bringing shoulder 74 into locking contact with the interior ofcontainer wall 76 adjacent the apex 79 of opening 75. The externallyapplied downward and lateral forces are then removed and the restoringresilient force of the depressed gasket member 72 maintains the shoulder74 in locking contact with the interior of container wall 76, adjacentopening 75.

Referring now to FIGURE 8, there is shown closure member 70-A, similarin construction to closure member 70 of FIGURES 6 and 7,'sealablypositioned within and about a container opening of configurationdifferent from that previously shown. The opening of FIGURE 8 consistsof a communicating circular opening 80 having a radial slot extensionportion 82. The circular opening 80 is of sufficient diameter toaccommodate the passage therethrough of the head portion 77-A of closuremem ber 70'A. When head portion 77'A has been pressed into the circularopening 88 in a manner above described, a lateral force is applied tothe closure member 70-A to force the member laterally along the radialslot extension 82 thereby locking head portion 77-A interiorly of thecontainer to prevent accidental removal. The operation of closure 70-Awithin the opening 80-82 of FIGURE 8 is substantially similar to theoperation of closure 70 in the opening of FIGURES 6 and 7, therefore,further description will be omitted.

It should be noted that either of the closure members 10' and 46 couldalso be used to scaleably close opening 8082 of FIGURE 8 since theiroperation, as above described, is similar to the operation of theclosure member 7 tl-A.

Referring now to FIGURE 9, there is shown still another container andcontainer opening in which the closure of this invention can be used.Container 86 is substantially box shaped and provided with a triangularopening 88 in one corner thereof sealably covered with a clear plasticfilm which can be punctured to open. Opening 88 is of the same generalconfiguration as open-- ing 75 of FIGURES 6 and 7 and can be sealablyclosed. by any of the closure members of this invention above;described.

Referring now to FIGURE 10, there is shown still an-- other modificationof the closure of this invention. Closure member 90 consists of acentral preferably cylindrical body portion 92 having on one end thereofa flange portion 94 and the other end thereof provided With one or moreexternal threads 96 with a gasket member 98 of resilient materialreceived about the body portion 92. It is preferred that a Washer 10!having an area at least approximating the area of gasket 98, bepositioned upon 92 between flange 94 and gasket 98 against which themajor part of the restoring resilient force of depressed gasket 98 canbe applied.

The threads 96 present an upwardly directed continuous helical shapedshoulder on the exterior of body portion 92 that functions in the samemanner as the shoulders of the closure members previously described. Oneof the advantages gained from using external threads as the lockingshoulder of the closure member is that they allow the closure member 90to be sealably locked in opening 102 at various depths to provide sealsof various strengths between the closure member and the container. Atension element 104, such as a spring, is attached at one end to theupper surface of flange portion 94, and at the other end to thecontainer wall 105.

Spring tension element 104 produces a lateral force on the closuremember 90 that cooperates with the resilient restoring force of gasketmember 98 to maintain the threads 96 of member 98 in locking contactwith a point on the peripheral edge of opening 102.

A locking element 106 consisting of a dog-leg shaped metallic ribboninclines u wardly from attachment to container wall 105 into lockingcontact with the peripheral edge of flange portion 94, opposite thespring element 104. When locking element 106 is in locking contact withflange portion 94, body portion 92 can not be pivoted into a positionperpendicular to container wall 105 and removed from the opening 102therein.

When it is desired to remove closure member 90 from opening 102 lockingelement 106 is pivoted upwardly out of contact with the flange portion94 as shown in phantom lines in FIGURE 10. The body portion 92 is thenpivoted into a position perpendicular to container Wall 105 with threads96 concentric to opening 102 and the closure member 90 is removed fromopening 102.

Referring now to FIGURE 11, there is shown a closure member 110 of thesame general type as described in reference to FIGURES 5 and 6, whichhas been modified for use with a valve 112. Valve 112 is of conventionaldesign having :1 depending externally threaded portion 114 which alsofunctions as the central body portion of closure 110 with the threadsforming an upwardly presented helical shoulder. A flange 116 istelescopically received about threaded portion 114, in contact with makeup flange 120 on the body of valve 112. A wedge shaped gasket member118, made of a resilient material, is received about extension 114 incontact with flange 116.

A central passage 122 is provided in gasket 118 for receivingtherethrough the externally threaded tubular extension 114. Passage 122can either be provided with internal threads corresponding to thethreads on tubular extension 114 or can be of substantially smalldiameter than the external diameter of extension 114 so that extension114 will have to be forced therein, thereby resulting in a tight sealbetween the gasket and the threads of extension 114. Valve 112 andclosure 110 is positioned within an opening 124 in a container wall 126in the same general manner as the closures above described With thethreads on the exposed end of tubular extension 114 functioning asequivalents to the shoulders of prior devices.

This combination of closure member 110 and valve 112 allows for the easyinstallation and removal of valves in container openings. Furthermore,when using this type of installation for valves and the like, when avalve is removed, a closure member of the type previously described canbe placed within the container opening 124 to sealably close thatopening and to prevent escape of fluids or similar material containedwithin the container 126.

Referring now to FIGURES l2 and 13, there is shown the closure member128 of this invention combined with a conventional reversible spout 129.Reversible spout 129 consists of a tubular conduit having a curved spoutportion 130 and a substantially straight portion 132. An externallyupset annular flange 134 is provided near the middle of the straightportion 132 of the spout. External threads 136 and 140 are provided onthe straight portion 132 of spout 129, on either side of the flange 134.

In attaching the spout 129 within a container opening 142, a washer 144is slid over the end of the straight portion 132 into contact with 134.An expansible, substantially wedge shaped gasket 146 of the typepreviously described is positioned around the end of straight portion132, adjacent washer 144. Therefore, straight portion 132 of the spout129 functions as the cylindrical body portion of the retainer member 128of this closure device and the threads 140 on the end of the straightportion 132 function as the shoulder of the retainer device similar tothreads 96 in FIGURE 10. Threaded end 140 of the combination of closuremember 128 and spout 129 is inserted into the container opening 142 andretained therein by locking contact of threads 140 with a point on theperipheral edge of opening 142.

When it is desired to close the opening 142, the combination closuremember 128 and spout 129 is removed from container 142, the flange 144and gasket member 146 are removed from the straight portion 132 of s out129 and are placed upon the spout in the manner shown in FIGURE 13. Thespout 129 is then replaced within the opening 142 with the curvedportion extending interiorly of the container and the combination lockedtherein in the manner above described. A cap 150 is then threadablyattached to the threaded end of the straight portion 132 to completelyseal the opening 142.

It is necessary that the passage 144 in gasket member 146 through whichspout 129 extends be smaller in diameter than the external diameter ofspout 129 so that a seal is provided between gasket member 146 and theexterior of spout 129 to prevent escape of fluids or other materialsfrom the container.

It should be apparent from the foregoing description that the closuredevice of this invention provides a device that operates efiiciently andeasily to seal and reseal an opening in a container. The device can beused to elfectively close an opening of almost any configuration in acontainer. Furthermore, this device can be used in combination withother elements such as valves, flow spouts, inlet tubular extensions andthe like, for flowably and sealably attaching such elements into acontainer.

The fact that the only element of this closure device that is effectedto any appreciable degree by continued use is the resilient gasket whichis relatively inexpensive and easily replaceable, adds economy to themany other advantages of the device.

Further, the devices of FIGURES 1 through 10 are of such height thatother like containers can be stored on top without interference to causetoppling.

The invention has been described by reference to specific and preferredembodiments. It will be apparent, however, that many modifications canbe made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.Accordingly, this invention should be construed not to be limited to theembodiment herein described but should be limited only by the scope ofthe appended claims.

What is claimed:

1. A closure device for a container opening comprising the combinationof:

a retainer member having an elongated central body portion terminatingone end with an integral flange portion and the other end with anannular shoulder portion; and

a gasket member surrounding said body portion between said flangeportion and said shoulder portion and having upper and lower planarintersecting surfaces to form a taper, whereby a seal is accomplishedbetween said container opening and said flange portion.

2. A closure device for a container opening as in claim 1 wherein saidbody portion is hollow to form a fluid passage spout.

7 8" 3. A closure device for a container opening comprising said bodyportion extending through said gasket perthe combinationof: pendicularto said tapered surface of said gasket.

a retainer member having an elongated central body portion terminatingone end with an integral flange Refereflces Cited y the Examine! portionand the other end with an annular shoulder 5 UNITED STATES PATENTSportion; and n a gasket member about said body portion between said g iflange portion and said shoulder portion and having a egan the surfaceof said gasket adjacent said flange pora I E tion downwardly taperedtoward the surface of said THERON CONDON Prlmmy 10, gasket adjacent saidshoulder portion, from one ex- GEORGE RALSTON, Exammertrernity of saidgasket to the opposite extremity, and

1. A CLOSURE DEVICE FOR A CONTAINER OPENING COMPRISING THE COMBINATIONOF: A RETAINER MEMBER HAVING AN ELONGATED CENTRAL BODY PORTIONTERMINATING ONE END WITH AN INTEGRAL FLANGE PORTION AND THE OTHER ENDWITH AN ANNULAR SHOULDER PORTION; AND A GASKET MEMBER SURROUNDING SAIDBODY PORTION BETWEEN SAID FLANGE PORTION AND SAID SHOULDER PORTION ANDHAVING UPPER AND LOWER PLANAR INTERSECTING SURFACES TO FORM A TAPER,WHEREBY A SEAL IS ACCOMPLISHED BETWEEN SAID CONTAINER OPENING AND SAIDFLANGE PORTION.